Marc Marquez has completed the perfect weekend in Austin, having led every session, taken pole (with a new lap record), recorded a new fastest race lap and crowned it with a victory this afternoon. His teammate, Dani Pedrosa, also contributed to the fantastic Repsol Honda spectacle with a strong second place 16.8 seconds ahead of third place finisher Dovizioso.

Starting on pole for the 11th time in just 20 MotoGP starts Marc, as last season, was once again the only rider to choose the hard rear Bridgestone tyre. He had his best start in the premier class, only beaten in the first corner by Lorenzo who made an uncharacteristic jump start - forcing him into the pit lane for a drive through penalty - and promoting Marc back up to first by the end of the first lap.

Once out in front, he never looked back. He set a new race lap record on lap three with a time of 2'03.575 (beating his time of 2'04.242 in 2013) and went on to win the race comfortably, apart from a final corner scare on the last lap when he briefly lost concentration, and finished four seconds in front of his teammate. Dani, starting from second on the grid, was also unfazed by Lorenzo's mistake and slipped in behind Marc as the Repsol Honda duo ran away from the race leaving them untouchable.

With this result, Marc has become the first rider to win the first two races of the year from pole in the premier-class since Repsol Honda's Mick Doohan in 1995. Repsol Honda riders have now won the last nine MotoGP races in the USA. The last non-Honda MotoGP winner in the USA was Jorge Lorenzo, at Laguna Seca in 2010.

"I'm very happy! I got a really good start, but when I saw Jorge overtake me off the line at first I was a little worried, but then I saw that he had jumped the start. It was a different race to previous ones because I led from start to finish; although it might seem easier that way, it is tough because you have to maintain concentration. It was a perfect weekend and gives us plenty of confidence, although we are aware that the coming races will be different. I know that the race was a little boring for the fans, but sometimes these types of races are good for a rider. Let's hope that the next one is more exciting!"

"It was a tough race as Marc was that little faster than me and although I tried to improve with every corner, it was too difficult to gain ground on him and the distance between us increased with every lap. In the end, he was too far away from me. I didn't have anyone behind me either, so I just kept up my pace as best I could. I learnt a few things in this race and we will try to apply them and make the maximum improvement possible, in order to be able to put up more of a fight next time"

Today's Grand Prix of the Americas at the COTA circuit in Austin, Texas proved to be a difficult one for the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP riders with Valentino Rossi taking eighth and teammate Jorge Lorenzo taking tenth.

After a less than perfect start that saw him drop from sixth on the grid to ninth, Rossi re-grouped and started to work his way back through the pack. Displaying his trademark efficiency the nine-time world champion made short work of the opening laps, passing Andrea Dovizioso, Stefan Bradl and finally Cal Crutchlow for fourth in turn seven. Rossi then began to close down Andrea Iannone and looked confident of scoring a podium finish until a sudden loss of grip on the right side of the front tyre left him unable to keep his pace, dropping him to eighth which he held to the line.

Teammate Jorge Lorenzo experienced his second Grand Prix weekend to forget today, making a jump start at the beginning of the race and receiving a ride-through penalty as a result. He pitted immediately at the end of the opening lap and re-joined at the back of the field in 23rd. The four-time world champion then showed his dedication and professionalism, working hard to move back through the pack to earn his first championship points of the season. As he crossed the finish line he did so in tenth position, less than four seconds from Rossi in eighth.

The eighth place finish gains Rossi a further eight points to give a total of 28, dropping him to third on the overall standings. Lorenzo's tenth place earns his first championship points of the season, putting him in 16th with six points.

The championship stays outside of Europe for round three, moving south for the Gran Premio de la República Argentina on 27th April.

46 Valentino Rossi
8th / +45.519 / 21 laps

"We destroyed the front tyre completely on the right side. I had the same problem during the weekend but less than this. This morning we made a good step and with a used tyre I could do all the warm up so we were quite positive. Unfortunately after seven or eight laps the front was gone and I had to go three seconds slower. It's a pity because we could do another podium which was the target here in Austin, unfortunately it wasn't to be."

Profile Profile
Valentino Rossi

Jorge Lorenzo
99 Jorge Lorenzo
10th / +49.111 / 21 laps

"I wasn't thinking and was distracted and I made a big mistake in the start. I just tried to push at the maximum afterwards to get the best result but the race was almost over for me. I want to say sorry to the team as I destroyed my race, but at least I didn't crash because it was a difficult situation with the tension and it was easy to make a mistake and get injured. The good thing is that I finished the race and got my first points in the championship but clearly it wasn't our weekend."

Massimo Meregalli
Massimo Meregalli

"Unfortunately Valentino completely destroyed the right side of his front tyre after a few laps. We had suffered already this weekend with this and made some changes to the set up, this morning we could do 16 laps with the tyre still looking good so we thought the problem was solved. It's a shame because as a result we lost the podium here in Texas, where we knew from the beginning it was going to be a tough race. As for Jorge, no matter how hard you prepare for a race weekend there are some things that cannot be anticipated. We all know he is one of the hardest working riders here and very rarely makes a mistake. He did a good job to make the best of it afterwards. I want to thank all the team for another weekend spent working extremely hard to overcome challenges and make a competitive bike for the race, we are looking forward to Argentina to come back even stronger.

Repsol Honda's Marc Marquez capped off a perfect weekend at Circuit of The Americas by winning his second successive Americas Grand Prix ahead of teammate Dani Pedrosa.

The race started in dramatic fashion after Movistar Yamaha MotoGP rider Jorge Lorenzo jumped the start and as a result had to relinquish his race lead and enter the pits to serve a ride-through penalty. This gifted the race lead to Marquez who was able to consistently lap in the 2'03 time bracket to quickly build a gap over the rest of the field. At the chequered flag Marquez crossed the finish line 4.124 seconds of Pedrosa in second place, while Andrea Dovizioso finished in an impressive third place to score his first podium with Ducati.

Intermittent rain fell earlier in the day but track conditions were dry for the race, although track temperatures were considerably lower than yesterday. The peak track temperature during the race was 33°C, ten degrees cooler than yesterday afternoon. The medium compound rear slick was the preferred race option, with sixteen of the twenty-three riders on the grid selecting this option, while six Open-class riders selected the soft compound rear slick. In similar fashion to the season-opener in Qatar, only race winner Marquez selected the hard compound rear slick. All riders selected the medium compound front slick for the race. The improved track conditions compared to last year resulted in quicker race pace this year, with Marquez setting a new Circuit Record Lap time of 2'03.575 on lap three, while the overall race time was nine seconds quicker than last year.

Marquez's two wins from two races sees him lead the championship standings over teammate Pedrosa by fourteen points, while Movistar Yamaha MotoGP's Valentino Rossi is a further eight points behind and third overall in the championship points table.

Hiroshi Yamada - Chief Engineer, Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development Division
"Congratulations to Marc for another victory at Circuit of the Americas and to Repsol Honda for achieving another double podium at this venue. It was also pleasing to see Ducati return to the podium, so well done to Andrea and the team for their fantastic result today. I was sorry to see Cal crash and injure himself during the race and I want to wish him a full and speedy recovery. I hope that the exciting start to the season continues when we visit the Autódromo Termas de Río Hondo in a couple of weeks' time, and I look forward to returning to the United States for the Indianapolis Grand Prix in August."

Masao Azuma - Chief Engineer, Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development Division
"Conditions were much cooler today for the race but track conditions were good, which resulted in the race being run at a very quick pace. Only Marquez selected the harder rear slick for the race and it worked well for him, and all three rear slick options were utilised in the race. As expected the whole of the grid selected the medium compound option, yet during the race some riders experienced higher levels of front tyre abrasion than was seen during practice and qualifying. We will now analyse the tyres to work out what were the contributing factors that resulted in the high levels of wear that occurred during the race."

Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda - Race Winner
"I'm really happy with this victory, it was a different kind of race for me as I've never led a MotoGP race from start to finish, so it was a bit strange and it was hard to keep my concentration. It was great to get the twenty-five points today, but I know the next races will be more challenging as this is one of my favourite circuits and today was one of my easier victories."

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Aspar Honda

DRIVE M7 ASPAR RIDERS FINISH TOUGH WEEKEND WITH SOLID POINTS

Nicky Hayden and Hiroshi Aoyama make up positions to take eleventh and twelfth in Texas

The second round of the MotoGP World Championship in Texas got underway at 2pm, literally moments after Jorge Lorenzo had launched from the line to earn himself an unwanted 'ride-through' penalty for a jump start that damages his championship chances. Marc Márquez needed no second invitation to dominate, having done exactly that throughout the rest of the weekend, adding a new lap record (2.03.575) to his account on his way to a second straight victory from the first two rounds of the season. The defending World Champion finished with a four-second lead over Dani Pedrosa, who took second place by a clear margin from Andrea Dovizioso in third.

After a positive start to the season in Qatar there were strong finishes again from the DRIVE M7 Aspar Team, both Nicky Hayden and Hiroshi Aoyama saving their best for race day. Nicky started from fourteenth on the grid but fought off Scott Redding and Yonny Hernández in a race-long battle to take eleventh place whilst Aoyama made progress with his front-end set-up to improve his pace and trade up his sixteenth place in qualifying for twelfth place in the race.

11th Nicky Hayden: "To be honest the race went a lot better than I expected and obviously it was much better than the rest of the weekend. It hasn't been an easy Grand Prix for us, we had a few setbacks during practice and to be honest my reaction wasn't the best. It was hard for me to be so far off the pace in my home race and I have to apologise because I'm sure I wasn't easy to be around. The team worked really hard all weekend, I gave the mechanics plenty to do and they did their best to give me the best possible bike. In the end we have come away with a positive result and I had fun fighting with a strong group of riders. The positive thing is we have more experience with this new bike and we know the season is long so we have to keep going to make the most of our potential."

12th Hiroshi Aoyama: "I think starting from sixteenth and finishing twelfth, we have to be satisfied and it shows the progress we have made all weekend. I had a good start but with us going for the hard tyre we had to wait for the feeling to come in and as the laps went by I was able to close on the group in front and make some passes. In the end I almost caught Nicky so I am really happy and grateful to the team for giving me a great setting, the bike worked well and I felt better than in Qatar, especially with the front end. We still need to build experience with this bike but a twelfth place finish today is positive and we are on the right lines. I want to thank the team, the sponsors and everybody around me that helps us score results like this."

After an impressive start to the weekend with Johann Zarco showing his pace throughout, it was an unfortunate ending for the AirAsia Caterham Moto team at the Circuit of The Americas.

Johann Zarco: DNF

"Another bad Sunday because no points again at the end.

"With these very slow corners there is always some confusion and that's why on the first corner I lost many positions but this wasn't a big problem because then I was quite comfortable to overtake riders. Then in one braking point I tried to overtake one rider and I saw that I was already on the limit. I tried to save it my movement cutting the line but then I touched Simon and that was really bad.

"After such a good weekend its' so disappointing; I made a mistake and I'm really sorry to the team."

Josh Herrin: DNF

"Going into turn one I made a dumb mistake; I didn't really think about my position on the track and was way too far on the inside. It's something that shouldn't happen and I'm just sorry to the guys that I hit.

"I managed to remount and tried as hard as I could to get back up towards the front as much as I could. I started to get into a rhythm and managed to get up to P21 but I was just pushing too much and ended up tucking the front.

"I'm really disappointed as I felt like in the race I could have made something happen. I need to try and get a better grid position. This time it's nobody's fault but mine and I'm so sorry for my team who all worked incredibly hard.

Johan Stigefelt - Team Manager:

"From a very positive weekend it has been a disappointing ending with both riders out again. We worked so hard all over the weekend and especially for Johann, I was looking forward to this race because I knew he could fight for the podium positions today.

"Josh crashed on the first lap and I think he just needs to take it step by step and start learning how this championship works. Starting from Friday at Argentina will begin with a new strategy for him and see if that works better.

"These things happen and this is racing. We are all disappointed from the riders to the team but we have shown we have the ability and the pace, so we just need to refocus and concentrate on the next race.

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Pramac Ducati

Podium in sight for Iannone
Podium in sight for Iannone
The Pramac Racing Team just ended a great weekend. In the North American round all the goals were reached. Andrea Iannone gave everything possible crossing the finish line in seventh position. Yonny Hernandez gets in the points with the a thirteenth placement.

Andrea Iannone - Pramac Racing - starts off the race gaining third place from the first lap, The Maniac constantly keeps a fast pace pulling out a gap between him and the group behind him. The performance loss due to the degradation of the front tire in the last 6 laps did not allow him to maintain the position, that would been worth the podium, Andrea crossed the finish line in seventh place, however, the best personal performance in the top class .

Yonny Hernandez - Energy T.I. Pramac Racing - had a good start, gaining a few positions throughout the race fighting in the group from the tenth to thirteenth position with riders of experience. The Colombian reached his goal, ending in the points, crossing the finish line in thirteenth place .

Andrea Iannone ( Pramac Racing)

" I am satisfied with today's result , but I could have done better if i didn't have the tire problem. I pushed to the limit till it was possible, the grip of the front tire suddenly got worse making it too dangerous to push. I do not understand why it lost so much grip, during the practice session we used the same compound and didn't have this problem. This is my first good race in MotoGP after a difficult year for Ducati, we are getting stronger! I thank the members of my team for the great job this weekend and Ducati for support. "

Yonny Hernandez (Energy T.I. Pramac Racing)

"It was a good race I'm happy with my result! I was close to Hayden and Aoyam for most of the twenty laps, they have a lot of experience , and it was a good opportunity that helped learn a lot. I'm glad I achieved my goal again! I thank the team for the hard work done. "

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LCR Honda

BRADL GETS A POSITIVE 4th AT COTA AFTER A STRONG BATTLE FOR THE PODIUM

Austin, 13 April: the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas got underway at 2pm local time in hot but uncertain conditions (with a 40% chance of rain) with Marquez gaining his second seasonal victory followed by Pedrosa and Dovizioso. LCR Racer Stefan Brad, who started from the third spot on the grid, was a great competitor and made the most of his RC213V to get the third place on the podium but some front tyre problems prevented him to finish the 21-lap race behind the Repsol duo.

Stefan: "First of all this race was a bit strange because of the jump-start of Lorenzo and in the beginning I struggled a bit to find my pace. I had to battle with Rossi and Ducati riders in the first laps and it took me some time to get out of that for finding my speed. After that I could go but honestly we had a big problem with the front tyre as it dropped down too fast. I had to slow down and it was impossible for me to catch Dovizioso. The tyres performances throughout the weekend was good but in the race we had a very big problem and I think it's the same for many riders right now. I smelled the podium today and it's difficult to accept the defeat but we can be happy anyway because we did a very good job".

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GP of the Americas: Dovizioso takes Ducati back to the podium with third place as Crutchlow crashes out

Today was a day of excitement at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, where the second round of this year's MotoGP World Championship was held. Starting from tenth place on the grid, Andrea Dovizioso administered the 21 laps in a masterly way to conclude the Texan race in third place, his best result since he joined the Italian manufacturer. The last time a Ducati rider stepped onto the podium was in September 2012.

His team-mate Cal Crutchlow's day was on the other hand more complicated. The British rider started from seventh on the grid, and three laps in was already up to fourth. After feeling a strong vibration in the rear of his Desmosedici GP14, Cal came into the pits to change the rear tyre. Two laps later and his race was over as he had a nasty high-side in Turn 2, crashing down heavily and injuring his right hand.

Taken immediately to the circuit's medical centre, he was diagnosed as having a dislocated little finger of his right hand, together with some bruising. He will fly to San Diego tomorrow for a specialist visit, but there should be no problems regarding his return to the track at the next round in two weeks' time, on the brand-new Termas de Rio Hondo track in Argentina.

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) - 3rd
"I am very pleased with the way I managed the race because in the early laps I didn't have the right pace. But I kept calm and kept up a constant pace, and this paid off because I didn't stress the tyres too much. My performance dropped off a bit towards the end but obviously less than the other riders I was fighting with and this allowed me to do the final stages in a good condition. Then I pulled out a small gap over Bradl and Smith, which allowed me to take the chequered flag with an advantage of almost two seconds. I am very pleased with this result for my team. We've been working hard for a year and suffering a lot, and we are still not as quick as we would like to be. Getting a result like this at this time of the season is very important, also for all the engineers and mechanics in the racing division back in Bologna, who are working very hard to improve the Desmosedici's competitiveness."

Cal Crutchlow (Ducati Team #35) - DNF
"I was very optimistic, but unfortunately I had a problem with the rear tyre of the bike immediately from lap 1, there were some very big vibrations and it was becoming worse so I thought it was better to pit and change the tyre. Because we were not even at half-distance, the team made the decision to put the soft rear tyre in and I took benefit from that but I was never going to get any points. I remember hitting a bump on the track that upset the bike. It was a fast corner and seemed like it was just going to be a normal crash, but I got caught up with the bike and it ended up highsiding me. I really hit my hand so hard that I dislocated the finger and the swelling of the hand was so bad that I couldn't see the problem. I'm sorry for the team, but very pleased for Andrea to be on the podium after all the hard work the guys in Ducati Corse have put in over the winter."

Luigi Dall'Igna (Ducati Corse General Manager)
"It was a good result for the team, somehow unexpected after yesterday's qualifying. Andrea did a really great race, riding hard and in a very clever way, to finally take a Ducati back onto the podium. Unfortunately Cal had a problem with vibration at the rear of his bike and he subsequently crashed after stopping in the pits to change the rear tyre. Luckily it seems that the condition of his right hand is not too serious and he should be OK for the next race in Argentina in a couple of weeks' time. After all the work we've been doing over the last few months, today we scored a positive result and so I'd like to thank all the guys in Ducati Corse for their massive commitment on track and back in Bologna."

The Ducati Team wishes to express its sincerest condolences to the family and friends of the Italian racer Emanuele Cassani, who tragically lost his life today in a crash at the Misano Adriatico circuit.

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YAMAHA

Unfortunate End to Texas Grand Prix Weekend for Movistar Yamaha

Today's Grand Prix of the Americas at the COTA circuit in Austin, Texas proved to be a difficult one for the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP riders with Valentino Rossi taking eighth and teammate Jorge Lorenzo taking tenth.

After a less than perfect start that saw him drop from sixth on the grid to ninth, Rossi re-grouped and started to work his way back through the pack. Displaying his trademark efficiency the nine-time world champion made short work of the opening laps, passing Andrea Dovizioso, Stefan Bradl and finally Cal Crutchlow for fourth in turn seven. Rossi then began to close down Andrea Iannone and looked confident of scoring a podium finish until a sudden loss of grip on the right side of the front tyre left him unable to keep his pace, dropping him to eighth which he held to the line.

Teammate Jorge Lorenzo experienced his second Grand Prix weekend to forget today, making a jump start at the beginning of the race and receiving a ride-through penalty as a result. He pitted immediately at the end of the opening lap and re-joined at the back of the field in 23rd. The four-time world champion then showed his dedication and professionalism, working hard to move back through the pack to earn his first championship points of the season. As he crossed the finish line he did so in tenth position, less than four seconds from Rossi in eighth.

The eighth place finish gains Rossi a further eight points to give a total of 28, dropping him to third on the overall standings. Lorenzo's tenth place earns his first championship points of the season, putting him in 16th with six points.

The Monster Yamaha Tech3 Team riders today finished round 2 of the MotoGP World Championship in a highly determined manner, with both riders achieving their best ever results in the premier class. Bradley Smith finished in 5th position after narrowly missing out on a debut podium, with rookie Pol Espargaro crossing the line in 6th to claim his first MotoGP points and as the quickest rookie.

Bradley Smith delivered a fierce campaign to challenge for a podium position, before guiding his Yamaha YZR-M1 home in what was his best ever MotoGP result. After having qualified in 8th, the British rider dropped back a place during the first lap, but soon set into a smooth rhythm and proceeded to move up the field, progressing up to 7th a few laps later. He then closed in on the Factory Yamaha of Valentino Rossi before passing him quickly. On lap 14 the young British rider overtook his teammate and swiftly caught the 5th placed rider three laps later, before hunting down the remaining competitors to challenge for the final podium position. Smith rode tirelessly to reach them, and then exchanged forceful moves with Stefan Bradl right down to the chequered flag fighting for 4th position. Even though the battle didn't come to a lucky end, on what was once again a difficult racetrack for all the Yamaha bikes, Smith brilliantly showed his progression, finishing as the top Yamaha on the timesheets.

Rookie Pol Espargaro successfully clinched his maiden points scoring finish today at COTA, and completed the race as the fastest rookie by finishing in a highly impressive 6th position. The Reigning Moto2 World Champion had a positive start, and moved forward to 10th on the first lap. Espargaro skilfully forged ahead and continued to battle remaining with teammate Bradley Smith as they moved up the field. On lap ten, the Spanish rookie brilliantly overtook multiple world champion Valentino Rossi. Espargaro finally completed his impressive point scoring race by taking 6th place on the final lap.

The NGM Forward Racing Team leaves Texas with Aleix Espargaro finishing 9th overall and first open. After the great result scored yesterday in qualifying, Aleix struggled to make a good start, losing contact with the front group. He had issues with chattering and preferred to be a bit conservative to finish the race and get some good points. The result puts him 5th in the championship with 20 points.

It was an unlucky day for Colin Edwards who expected to get another result in his home grand prix. As with his teammate, Colin struggled a lot during the race and when there were 4 laps to go his bike stopped, obliging him to retire. With today's retirement, Colin is 14th in the rider Championship.

The championship stays outside of Europe for round three, moving south for the Gran Premio de la República Argentina on 27th April.
Valentino Rossi
8th, +45.519

"We destroyed the front tyre completely on the right side. I had the same problem during the weekend but less than this. This morning we made a good step and with a used tyre I could do all the warm up so we were quite positive. Unfortunately after seven or eight laps the front was gone and I had to go three seconds slower. It's a pity because we could do another podium which was the target here in Austin, unfortunately it wasn't to be."
Jorge Lorenzo
10th, +49.111

"I wasn't thinking and was distracted and I made a big mistake in the start. I just tried to push at the maximum afterwards to get the best result but the race was almost over for me. I want to say sorry to the team as I destroyed my race, but at least I didn't crash because it was a difficult situation with the tension and it was easy to make a mistake and get injured. The good thing is that I finished the race and got my first points in the championship but clearly it wasn't our weekend."
Massimo Meregalli
Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Team Director

"Unfortunately Valentino completely destroyed the right side of his front tyre after a few laps. We had suffered already this weekend with this and made some changes to the set up, this morning we could do 16 laps with the tyre still looking good so we thought the problem was solved. It's a shame because as a result we lost the podium here in Texas, where we knew from the beginning it was going to be a tough race. As for Jorge, no matter how hard you prepare for a race weekend there are some things that cannot be anticipated. We all know he is one of the hardest working riders here and very rarely makes a mistake. He did a good job to make the best of it afterwards. I want to thank all the team for another weekend spent working extremely hard to overcome challenges and make a competitive bike for the race, we are looking forward to Argentina to come back even stronger.
Bradley Smith
5th, +22.963

"I am very pleased with my performance during the 21 laps with this being the most physical track on the calendar in my opinion. I made it hard work for myself. It's difficult to get a perfect setting around here as there are so many different corners, and it is impossible to make one setting which suits all of them. You have to make the best compromise. I was a bit too aggressive during the first laps, and overheated my brakes and the front tyre got really warm. So rather than risking anything, I let them recover, which took me 3 or 4 laps. I saw Pol come past me and then Valentino getting away, so I just had to take a breath. Once the tyres had stabilised, I started moving forward. I then thought either the bike is going to come to me or I am just going to have to sit where I am. With 12 laps to go, I realised that I had a chance and put my head down. I got to Bradl and gave everything I could, and when I reached those left right left corners, where I tried to go underneath him, my heart rate just went through the roof. I put all my cards on the table, as I knew that Dovizioso was edging away, but I am still really pleased to be the top Yamaha".
Pol Espargaro
6th, +26.567

"I'm truly happy with today's result; to finish my first MotoGP race in sixth position and in front of the Factory Yamahas makes me quite proud. I knew that I had to push as much as possible at the beginning, as I didn't want to lose contact with the guys in front of me. I probably pushed a little too much and I could not keep the rhythm until the end of the race. But I'm happy that I was able to battle with my teammate during a certain stage of the race because Bradley is going really fast this season. Being the second Yamaha means we have not done a bad job at all. The biggest problem during the race has been the front tyre and I think all of the Yamaha's struggled with it. We knew already from last year's race that it would not have been an easy track for our bike. I can physically feel that it has been a very demanding race, the MotoGP bikes are exhausting. I have some pain in my shoulder because of the high number of left corners and especially during braking towards the end of the race. The team did a great job and I'm really giving it my all to learn and improve as quickly as possible. I'm already looking forward to the next round in Argentina in a couple of weeks".
Aleix Espargaro
9th, +47.605

"This morning we struggled a lot due to the front chattering and it happened the same in the race. I couldn't push. I had to be a bit conservative, focusing on finishing the race and getting some points. It was very frustrating but it was impossible for me to push more today. Anyway I'm confident for the next gp and I look forward to race in Argentina."
Colin Edwards
DNF

"We struggled the whole weekend and I also had an issue with my front tyre, that made my race even more complicated. With 4 laps to go, I had problems with the fuel pressure and my bike stopped, when I was in the back straight. My race was over. Now we will try to understand what happened."

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Front tyre problem costs Scott dear in Austin

140413-wlead

Austin, Texas - 13 April 2014: Scott Redding's race came to a premature end when a rapidly deteriorating front tyre caused him to crash out in the closing stages of today's Grand Prix of the Americas.

The 21-year-old Briton was holding his own in the early part of the race, but was forced to slow before completing half of the 21 laps, after encountering a problem with the right hand side of his front tyre.

The right side of the tyre continued to deteriorate as the race progressed, eventually causing Scott to crash out at turn eight with just two laps remaining.

It was a disappointing end to the Austin weekend, but Scott is determined to bounce back at the Argentinian Grand Prix, which takes place at the new Termas de Rio Hondo circuit in just two weeks time.

Scott Redding // DNF
"I felt pretty comfortable for the first seven or eight laps, but then the grip from the front tyre started to drop off and that made it difficult to keep a consistent rhythm. I kept pushing on, despite losing the front a few times, but the last time it went I couldn't save it and down I went. It was a relatively small crash, so I'm okay. When we checked the front tyre after the race the right side was completely ruined. It's strange because I'd done many laps on the same tyre in practice with no problems at all. We need to look into this in more detail, to find out what the problem was. The bike was fine. I was in a big battle with Yonny Hernandez early in the race, but every time I got past him and tried to chase down the riders ahead of us, he'd just blast past me on the straights and I'd have to do it all again. A crash is never how you want to end a weekend, but now we need to put it behind us and focus on the next race in Argentina."